What is Heartburn?

Heartburn is a painful, burning feeling people feel in their oesophagus, just behind the breastbone. Heartburn is most commonly associated with gastric acid being regurgitated and the pain associated is usually felt in the chest, sometimes spreading up to the neck, throat and lower jaw. The name is misleading, as heartburn doesn’t have anything to do with the heart. It’s called heartburn because the pain is felt near to where the heart is located.

Who is at Risk?

There are several factors that can put you at risk of suffering from heartburn symptoms. These include obesity, being pregnant, smoking, drinking alcohol and gastro paresis.

• Obesity increases pressure on the stomach, which in turn increases gastric pressure.
• Increased hormonal levels during pregnancy can loosen the ligaments that usually keep your lower oesophageal sphincter tightly closed, allowing food and stomach acids to reflux into your oesophagus and throat.
• As well as weakening your lower oesophageal sphincter, smoking also increases your production of stomach acid.
• Alcohol has the same effects as smoking, as well as making your throat more sensitive to stomach acids.
• Gastro paresis is when the stomach takes a longer than usual time to pass through food and it often occurs in people with Type I or Type II diabetes. It happens when nerves in the stomach are damaged, in particular the vagus nerve, which controls how your food moves through your stomach. If your stomach emptying is too slow it increases your gastric pressure and can lead to reflux and heartburn.

Managing Heartburn

If you suffer from heartburn symptoms, the next step is figuring out which of the heartburn causes applies to you. Knowing heartburn causes enables you to make steps to eliminate the reason for your symptoms. Of course, it will not be possible to simply remove the cause in all cases. For example, you can’t just stop being pregnant. What you can do is take steps to minimise your heartburn, such as raising the top half of the body while you sleep or eating small, frequent meals instead of larger meals, as big meals cause excess acid production.

As well as these preventative measures, there are also drugs available to help with heartburn relief. Antacids neutralise stomach acid and can be very effective. Acid still splashes into the oesophagus, but it is less painful because it has been neutralised. However, antacids only work for a short time and are not a long-term solution. Similarly, a small amount of bicarbonate soda mixed in water will also neutralise acid. You should be aware that sodium is also thought to increase blood pressure and cause other health problems. There are also different drugs and herbal-based remedies available that reduce the amount of acid released into the stomach, typically these take half an hour or more to take effect as they must be absorbed into the blood stream. As such, they are used more as a preventative than as a solution for heartburn pain. One should also be directed to not only see their doctor but also by visiting their local health products retailer to speak to an alternative medicine practitioner.

The final step is to consider your diet, 90 to 95 per cent of heartburn sufferers are able to link their symptoms to a specific type of food. If you pay close attention to when you feel heartburn, your solution could be as simple as avoiding a specific type of food. Heartburn relief is always the ultimate goal, as it can be quite discomforting and interrupts our general quality of life. Nobody wants to have to leave an afternoon lunch with friends because they get serious heartburn.